A. No license shall be issued by the division to any applicant unless the director is satisfied that the applicant is or has in his employ a qualifying party who is qualified for the classification for which application is made and the applicant has satisfied the requirements of Subsection B of this section.

B. An applicant for a license shall:

(1) demonstrate proof of responsibility as provided in the Construction Industries Licensing Act [this article];

(2) comply with the provisions of Subsection D of this section if he has engaged illegally in the contracting business in New Mexico within one year prior to making application;

(3) demonstrate familiarity with the rules and regulations promulgated by the commission and division concerning the classification for which application is made;

(4) if a corporation, incorporated association, registered limited liability partnership or limited liability company, have complied with the laws of this state requiring qualification to do business in New Mexico and provide the name of its current registered agent and the current address of its registered office in New Mexico;

(5) if a person other than the persons described in Paragraph (4) of this subsection, provide a current physical location address and mailing address of the applicant's place of business;

(6) submit proof of registration with the taxation and revenue department and submit a current identification tax number;

(7) comply with any additional procedures, rules and regulations which are established by the commission relating to issuance of licenses; and

(8) have had four years, within the ten years immediately prior to application, of practical or related trade experience dealing specifically with the type of construction or its equivalent for which the applicant is applying for a license, except that the commission may by regulation provide for:

(a) reducing this requirement for a particular industry or craft where it is deemed excessive but the requirement shall not be less than two years; and

(b) a waiver of the work experience requirement of this paragraph when the qualifying party has been certified in New Mexico with the same license classification within the ten years immediately prior to application.

C. The division, with the consent of the commission, may enter into a reciprocal licensing agreement with any state having equivalent licensing requirements.

D. The director may issue a license to an applicant who at any time within one year prior to making application has acted as a contractor in New Mexico without a license as required by the Construction Industries Licensing Act if:

(1) the applicant in addition to all other requirements for licensure pays an additional fee as follows:

(a) in an amount up to ten percent of the contract price or the value of the nonlicensed contracted work in the discretion of the commission; or

(b) if the applicant has bid or offered a price on a construction project and was not the successful bidder or offeror, the fee shall be at least one percent but not more than five percent of the total bid amount; and

(2) the director is satisfied that no incident of such contracting without a license:

(a) caused monetary damage to any person; or

(b) resulted in an unresolved consumer complaint being filed against the applicant with the division.

E. An unlicensed contractor who has performed unlicensed work may settle the claims against him without becoming licensed if the claims arise from his first offense and he pays an administrative fee calculated pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection D of this section. In addition to the administrative fee, an additional ten percent of the amount of the administrative fee shall be assessed as a service fee.

F. If the total fee to be paid by the contractor pursuant to the provisions of Subsection D or E of this section is twenty-five dollars ($25.00) or less, the fee may be waived.

G. The director shall report every incident of nonlicensed contracting work to the taxation and revenue department to assure that the contractor complies with tax requirements and pays all taxes due.

History: 1953 Comp., § 67-35-17, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 199, § 17; 1969, ch. 224, § 6; 1977, ch. 245, § 176; 1977, ch. 377, § 3; 1978, ch. 73, § 2; 1983, ch. 105, § 7; 1985, ch. 18, § 1; 1989, ch. 6, § 14; 1997, ch. 181, § 3.

The 1997 amendment, effective July 1, 1997, rewrote Paragraphs B(4) and B(5); in Paragraph B(8) inserted "except that" and made stylistic changes, including insertion of the subparagraph designations; in Paragraph D(1), substituted "as follows" for "in an amount equal to five percent of the value of such nonlicensed contracting work" and added Subparagraphs (a) and (b); added Subsections E and F; and redesignated former Subsection E as Subsection G.

When foreign corporation considered to be "maintaining an office". — The hiring of an agent by a foreign corporation for the sole purpose of receiving and forwarding a summons and complaint to the home office of the corporation located in another state does not fall within any of the generally accepted definitions pertaining to maintaining of an office. An occasional or isolated act of this type by an agent of a foreign corporation is obviously not a part of the continuous, usual and ordinary business of the corporation which, in this case, would be building or construction. A foreign corporation must do something in addition to merely designating a statutory agent for service in order to meet the requirement of "maintaining an office." 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 62-90 (rendered under prior law).

Otherwise qualified alien may be issued license. 1960 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 60-162.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 51 Am. Jur. 2d Licenses and Permits §§ 45 to 47.

53 C.J.S. Licenses §§ 39, 40.